Performances

Tune of the Day: Son ar Chistr

Traditional Breton drinking song

This folk song comes from Brittany, and its title translates to "Song of Cider" in English. The origins of the song are mysterious. Often claimed to be a traditional tune, some sources claim this song was written by an unknown Breton piper in the late 1920s. Most likely, it was written by Jean-Bernard and Jean-Marie Prima in 1929.

Breton singer Alan Stivell was the first to popularize this song, releasing it in 1970 as the B-side of his single “Brocéliande”. A big success, as his first professional album Reflets of the same year, which also included the song.

The tune was also played by The Chieftains, as “Ev Chistr 'ta, laou!”, in their 1986 album Celtic Wedding: Music of Brittany.

In 1976 the song was exported to the Netherlands by Bots as “Wat zullen we drinken (Zeven dagen lang)”, or "Sieben Tage lang" in German. As such, it has been recently brought back to popularity by the Dutch folkband Rapalje.